Until the Very End
by rahlove44
Summary: Sarah transferred to Hogwarts from Ilvermorny after a sudden decision by her mother to do so with some mysterious reason unknown to her. She finds herself amongst a pining Draco Malfoy and in the midst of Harry's crew.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One: The Beginning_

 _I had no idea what to expect walking into Hogwarts. I had lived my whole life in the States with my mother, so the unexpected transfer was a situation that was hard to wrap my head around. I knew absolutely no one, and literally had no interest in knowing anyone._

"This is a unique situation, Sarah," rambled on Professor Dumbledore, "Hogwarts has never had a student transfer here from another school of magic. But, your mother expressed the importance of you being here, so I agreed to it. I'm sure she has her reasons."

My mother, Evangeline Lynwood, had gone to Hogwarts herself, but eventually moved to the U.S. to "escape" the shitstorm that was going on with the magical community however many years ago it was that she was here.

"It's whatever," I said whimsically. How strange it was for me to be here with everyone who surrounded me with their English accents. Professor Dumbledore was the only person who actually even knew that I was here. Another thing that I found strange. Why would they want to keep my presence here a secret?

"Being that you are here now," Professor Dumbledore went on, "The first thing we must do is situate yourself into one of the Houses here. The only way to do that is to have you put the Sorting Hat on." He pulled it down from one of the shelves. It was the oldest, most raggedy looking thing I had ever seen. He gave it to me, and I half-heartedly put it on. It jumped to life.

"Hmm," it began, "What an unusual thing it is for me to sort someone into a house being in their sixth year. Ah. I have met your mother once. What an unusual gift she had. So hard to place her. And you seem to have acquired it yourself, young lady. What an unusual gift it is indeed. And you yourself, are what seems to be, even harder to place than she was. So talented, and gifted a witch you are. Brilliant, might I say. Ravenclaw might be the best place for you. But you seem straight-forward and I sense quite a bit of bravery that flows in your blood. Maybe Gryffindor. No. Gryffindor won't do, not for you. I believe that you belong in Slytherin, my dear. Yes. Slytherin it will be for you."

The hat went silent and Professor Dumbledore removed it, returning it to its home back on the shelf.

Dumbledore sat down in his chair behind his desk. I had absolutely no fucking idea what to do.

"Your mother was in Slytherin, too you know," he mused. "The head of your house is Professor Severus Snape. You will find him to be someone you might acquaint with. And he will find it interesting that you are here. The common room and your dormitory are both down in the dungeons." The dungeons? Who the fuck lives in the dungeons? Whatever.

I left his office and walked out into the massive crowd of students. I gathered from the different color robes that my house color was green. What terrible color. And a snake for the mascot? Gag.

I was kind of a sore thumb in this heard of people. I could feel people watching me as I walked, and I hated every second of it. I was on the tall side and thin. I had long, dark hair and brilliantly dark blue eyes and have been told time and time again that I was unbelievably beautiful with olive skin and straight, pretty white teeth. Pretty much a barbie doll, minus the barbie doll personality.

I eventually found my way to the common room. It was dingy but there was a gigantic wall made of glass that looked into the depths of the Great Lake and it was breathtakingly wondrous. I couldn't believe my eyes. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad down here. I found it slightly comforting, as a matter of fact. I dropped my shit off on the bed where my belongings found a home and grabbed my journal and went down and found myself a corner with a chair and pulled out my pen and began writing while watching everyone sitting in the room with me, trying to figure out the type of people that I would be sharing residence with.

There was one group in particular that I was lulling over their conversations silently from my hideaway.

"Dracooo," cooed some bitchy girl, "Why must you always tease me?" she asked the blonde boy who was throwing garbage at, "I never do anythinggg to you." I hated her immediately. She annoyed the shit out of me with her whiny voice.

"Crabbe, get me something to drink, you worthless idiot," he demanded some troll of a boy. Jesus, what was wrong with people? I would have punched this kid in the damn face if he talked to me like that. And to my astonishment, this lumbering idiot actually got up to go get this kid something to drink, and I assumed it wasn't water. I just continued writing.

I looked back up and this kid was fucking staring at me. I was just further peeved.

"I don't think I have EVER seen you down here before," he said. I was pretty sure he was talking to me, but I continued to ignore him because I had absolutely no interest on talking to someone as awful as him. He knew I was too because he got up and walked over to me. Just the way he did pissed me off too, all arrogant and shit, like he owned the place.

"I was taking to you," he sneered at me. I looked at him with such a soul shattering glare that I'm surprised that he didn't catch on fire.

"I'm pretty sure," I began, "That I didn't reply for a reason." And there it was. My accent. He looked at me curiously. Then to my dismay, he sat down. I caught a side glance of that stupid girl glaring at me. "And I don't think your pet is too happy about you being here, so be a good boy and get the fuck away from me."

He laughed.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked. "None of your fucking business is who I am." I replied to him as I continued writing.


	2. Chapter 2

He just looked at me with a foul expression on his face. It was apparent to me that Draco wasn't going to leave me alone. So I looked at him with such disgust on my face, slammed my journal shut and got up to leave.

"Dracooo," said the foul girl from across the room, "Come back to me and stop talking to that bitch."

"Shut up, Pansy. No one asked you to speak," Draco snapped at her, "Where are you going?" he asked me. I continued on my way ignoring him.

I was back out in the crowd of people and just as uncomfortable as I was before. Classes weren't going to start for a couple days so I had sometime to figure everything out. I found the courtyard and found myself sitting up against a big oak tree. Maybe if I submersed myself in the large gatherings of people, I would go unnoticed. I opened my journal and continued to write and people watched at the same time. There were still people glancing at me curiously, but I payed no mind. I didn't even care as long as they left me alone.

"You're too pretty to be sitting over here by yourself," someone said from behind me. I looked back and saw some tall, red-headed boy talking to me. "Is that so?" I asked with boredom. "I haven't seen you around here before, I would've definitely noticed someone as pretty as you, especially with that accent you have," he continued on, "I'm Fred Weasley, my twin is over there," he pointed to the identical person who was making a show in front of some girls who were giggling at him, "His names George. And if you look over there," he turned and pointed in the opposite direction at another red-headed boy accompanied by a brown-haired girl and a boy with black hair talking amongst themselves, "That's my brother Ron and his friends, Harry and Hermione." That caught my attention. Harry? I had heard my mother talk about a boy named Harry before I left home. He was the son of her old best friend, Lily Potter. I didn't know much about him except that he had survived both of his parents in a brutal double-murder by some famous dark wizard named Voldemort. "And who might you be?" he asked me.

"I'm Sarah," I told him, "I just got here from the U.S. My mother thought, for some unknown reason, that it would be a good idea to rip me from everything I knew and send me here." He looked at me curiously, but didn't seem as if he was going to pry too much into the reasonings, which I liked.

"Wicked," he said. I must've given him a weird look at him saying that as a response because he laughed. I had no idea what he meant by "wicked." "It means, 'cool' here," he said, "Is it alright if I sit with you?"

"Sure," I said. I actually found him likable, which was unusual for me, I normally hated everyone.

"Soooo," he continued on, "How old are you? My brother George and I are 17." They were the same age as me.

"I'm 17, as well," I replied.

"Awesome!" he said looking at me happily, "Did they figure out what House you're in? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore got ahold of you already. All of us are in Gryffindor." I secretly had wanted to be in Gryffindor merely for the petty reason that lions were my favorite animals. But no, I got stuck with a damn Snake as my mascot. Hiss hiss.

"Yeah," I answered, "That moldy old hat put me in Slytherin, whatever that means." He looked at me strangely when I said Slytherin, which made me assume that probably wasn't the most popular house at Hogwarts.

"You don't seem like a Slytherin to me, you're much more outgoing than that lot of twats," he said. I actually laughed for the first time since I left home.

"They aren't exactly the most pleasant group of people I have met," I said, "Some idiot boy was trying to be a thug down in the common room not too long before I came out here, "And there was some awful girl I wanted to punch in the damn face as soon as she opened her stupid fucking mouth and talked. I was just trying to figure out the entire conversation why on Earth such idiots would be alive."

He snorted in amusement, "You must be talking about Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. They're awful people." I think I could get along with Fred. He was fun.

"Hey Fred," his twin called out to him, "Whatcya up to over there? Harassing some poor girl again?"

"Shut your mouth, George," Fred yelled back at him.

George walked over and took one look at me and his eyes widened, "You're not normally here, are you?"

"What a twat you are, George," Fred said, "Who the fuck says that to someone?" George ignored him and continued, "I'm this asshole's twin brother, George. And, arguably, the smarter of the two of us." Fred punched George in the leg. George backed up and ran his fingers through his hair and laughed. He looked back at me. "You're beautiful, Miss…" he left the sentence open-ended for me to finish.

"Sarah," I said, completing his sentence for him.

"Miss Sarah," he said again, "I hate to be a bummer, but I'm going to steal Fred from you. We have some scheming to do." He looked at Fred expectantly and Fred rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing the earthly debris covering his pants off.

"I'll see you around, yeah?" he asked, looking down at me. I pondered this. Did I really want to make friends? Maybe I was being too hostile and bitter towards being here.

"Yeah, of course," I answered him. "Awesome," he said, "I'll see you around, pretty eyes." I liked that. Pretty eyes. I actually felt a little flattered. He was so nice to me and I was a complete stranger to him. He smiled at me and then was drug by the arm away from me by George. I sighed and looked around at the rest of the people, stared blankly at something for a couple of seconds, and then bowed my head down to my journal, continuing on writing. Not even 30 seconds later:

"Did you think you could run away from me," came out a drawling of a voice. What the actual fuck? Had he followed me out here? I turned around and saw Draco leaning against the tree, obviously having listened to my conversation with Fred.

"What the fuck do you want?" I asked with irritation. I was pissed that he was still hounding me.

"Why are you talking to the poor ass Weasleys?" he badgered me, "They're not people you want to be seen with."

" _Actually_ , I would prefer not to be seen with _you_ ," I said angrily. How dare he question me, when he didn't even know me. I could tell right away he had a control issue. What an asshole. He looked offended. Like I gave a fuck.

"What did I even do?" he asked irritatedly, "I only asked who you were and you're the one who was being a bitch and stormed out of the common room dramatically." He was acting like a wounded child. Who WAS this kid?

"Jesus Christ," I said, "I'm Sarah. Are you happy? Will you leave me alone now?" He looked straight at me, and even for me his gaze took me aback a little bit.

"One thing that idiot was right about is that you are beautiful. Probably the best looking girl of the lot here," he said.

"Won't your girlfriend be mad that your indirectly hitting on another female?" I asked him, "Seems like she might try to fight me if she even sees you with me." He laughed.

"Who? Pansy?" he asked, amused, "She's just an obsessed little girl who thinks she can tell me what to do. She's not my girlfriend." Okay. I still didn't give a fuck. I just wanted him to leave. "Obviously you're not from here. Where did you come from?" For some reason, I found this question and how he had worded it to be extremely rude.

"Listen," I started, "If you wanted to know shit about me asking me, 'Who the fuck are you,' and, 'Where did you come from,' are not exactly the best approaches to asking someone to expand about themselves," I said, "BUT, I am from the States. My mother wanted me to come here for some stupid reason she won't tell me." The wind kept blowing my hair in my eyes and it was annoying the crap out of me. Today was just annoying, in general. I looked at Draco, who was now just silently staring at me, and realized that he was actually relatively attractive for such an idiot of a boy. And I could tell there was more to him than he was putting off. Maybe he was just an asshole as a front.

"Well," he started again, blinking and turning his head to look at the people who were laughing and talking loudly around us, "I'm sorry for being such a prat," another word I didn't know it's meaning to, "I guess I'm just interested in who you are. I'm not sure why, but you have a little bit of mystery surrounding you, Sarah. There are a lot of girls here. Beautiful girls, ugly girls, nice ones, mean ones, ones like Pansy, ones like Her-hinny over there," he nodded towards the brown-haired girl sitting with Fred's brother, Ron, and Harry, "But you just kind of kept to yourself," he was looking at me again, "Like you don't want anyone to notice you. And I'm telling you right now, someone as pretty as you is not going to go unnoticed here." He sat down next to me, almost uncomfortably close. What was wrong with this kid? Did he know what boundaries were? He sighed and leaned against the tree. I noticed he was wearing a plain, pale blue v-neck and jeans and had a nice duo-toned wrist watch on. He looked kind of stuck-up, maybe like his family had money, or something. But I had no idea. I was just sitting here making my own assumptions. He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

"What's your point?" I asked continuing on with my writing. He was a little bit different, now. I found myself actually being curious in respect to him. He had an air of, was it loneliness, surrounding him? Like he was a little bit of a broken person.

 _Jesus Christ_. I had a problem with wanting to fix broken people. And I suddenly found myself wanting to fix him. _STOP IT, SARAH_! I yelled at myself inside of my head.

He was looking straight at me again, and I was a little startled.

"The point is," he continued, "Is I want you to notice me before you notice the rest of them." How childish of a statement this sounded to me. Unfortunately for me, I was indeed noticing him, just like he wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco opened his eyes and I quickly averted my attention to some random guy picking grass out of the ground and throwing it at some girl with long blonde hair that was staring at the sky, unfazed by his shenanigans. Draco stood up.

"I'm leaving," he announced, as if I cared what he did. After there was no response from me he rolled his eyes, fiddled with his watch a little bit as the sun was making a glare on it, probably directing it towards his eyes. I watched him slink into the corridor, disappearing among the rest of the people.

I sat there, contemplating my conversations from that day, for probably about two hours. It was starting to get dark outside and I could feel myself begin to get hungry. _FUCK. I don't know where the,_ _what was it called, The Great Hall, was_. And I was sure it was approaching dinner time. There were hardly any people left outside as everyone had sunk into the castle when the light started escaping from the sky to be replaced with the somber moon and the twinkling lights of stars. It was noticeably cooler out too, and a breeze had been consistently catching hold. It smelled of grass and mystery in the air. I sighed and heaved myself up off of the ground. I guess it was time for me to follow people who were probably just as hungry as I was to dinner.

The Great Hall was enormous with four long tables at which the House flags were draping behind. At the far left was the Slytherin Table with the Serpent that represented the house sneering down on its students. Gryffindor was next to it with a gigantic lion roaring in triumph hanging behind it. And respectively next was the Ravenclaw table with its giant Raven cawing in confidence and the Hufflepuff table with its badger playfully represented behind it. It was interesting to me to see these animals so skillfully, and accurately, depicting the overall personalities of the people that they governed. And at the head of Hall, perpendicularly situated in front of the rest of the tables was situated the staff. Professor Dumbledore was at the head of the table sitting in what looked like a throne. Immediately right to him was a stern looking woman with a bun high on her head and small glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. To his left was a ma with longer, greasy looking black hair and a crooked looking nose who was staring right at me. I immediately got chills. It was as if he was peering directly into my soul. Wait. I knew who this was. I had seen him in one of the pictures my mother had with Lily. He didn't look pleasant there either and had hardly changed. His hair was significant shorter, but just as greasy. My mother had introduced him to me as someone she used to call, "Sev." So this was Professor Snape, the head of my house. No wonder Professor Dumbledore said I might find an acquaintance in him. He was one of my mother's best friends, someone she did not tell she was leaving when she suddenly departed from this side of the world. He knew who I was. I could feel it in his burning gaze. Plus, how could he not, I looked almost identical to my mother when she was my age.

"Hey, Sarah," someone called out. I looked to where it came from, and it was the Gryffindor table. Fred has spotted me and he was motioning me to come sit with them. I went over to him and he slid over and patted to the spot next to him. George laughed and I could feel the stares of the rest of the people sitting at the table. I sat down. "Everyone," Fred announced, "This is the lovely Sarah, faring all the was from the United States to join us in our merry fortitude of studies." I felt myself get hot with embarrassment. The attention from other people's eyes was unwelcome. I suddenly felt more out of place than I had since I had gotten there. I could see Draco staring at me, seemingly pissed that I had sat down with them, Little did he know that I could care less.

"I'm Harry," said the black-haired boy across from me. Oh there it was. The scar I had heard people talk about.

"Hey," I said.

"And I'm Ron," said the boy sitting next to him, sounding a little dim-witted.

"And I'm Hermione," said the brown-haired girl. I didn't like her very much already, either. She had the same sense of arrogance as Pansy and another air of know-it-all-ness that I fucking hated in people. I just nodded my head. They started talking back and forth between themselves about things like classes, what they wanted to eat, and things that really did not interest me at all. I looked back up at Professor Snape and his age was still fixed on me in the same way it was when I walked it. It was strange to me.

I found myself staring awkwardly around at everyone, not sure what to say. There was so much commotion and noise all around me that it was almost an anxiety attack waiting to happen. So I just picked at my food. I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. I just wanted to go back to doing other shit, but I didn't want to be rude either. I looked at Harry. I just sat there wondering what it was like to not have either of his parents in his life. Or how dreadful it must be to always be reminded about them everywhere he went. I was so consumed in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that so many people had left already. I caught a glimpse of Pansy and Draco staring at me, talking and Pansy leaned into him and said something and laughed. Draco just looked t her with disgust. Why do I have to live with such idiots? I was so irritated by this small, petty interaction that I had to leave.

"I'm sorry Fred," I started to say, "But I must excuse myself. I have to go do something." I was obviously full of shit and didn't have a good excuse.

"You're fine, pretty eyes," he started to say, "I hope you have a good night. I hope I catch you around tomorrow. Maybe we could hang out, just you and I, for a little while." I just smiled at him. I started to get up and felt Draco's eyes watching me. He seriously had a problem. I just needed to get away. I got up and left, finally feeling myself able to breathe again out in the corridor.

I didn't give a shit where I ended up, I just needed to get away. I stayed away from the forest line, the one that Professor Dumbledore warned me was full of creatures that invited unwelcome interactions with strangers, and headed towards the lake. The moon was up and it was so beautiful over the water which I was sure was full of other awful things. I sat down and just stared at the murky depths. I found myself missing home. A lot. I missed my old friends, my old school, even missed my crazy mother. I felt so alone here.

"You shouldn't be out here alone." _JESUS CHRIST_. Will this kid ever let up?

"Oh my god, Draco," I said, now angry, "What the fuck is your deal? Why can't you just leave me the fuck alone? I literally have no fucking interest in being bothered by you. Like ever. I didn't come out here to fucking sit here and chit chat with you. Seriously. Jesus." He didn't leave and I knew that he wasn't going to. I didn't fucking understand what his issue was.

He sighed and sat down next to me. I had my arms around my knees and I was glowering. I was surprised he didn't catch on fire from the amount of heat my body was emanating from how angry I was. Again, he was uncomfortably close to me.

 _Wait. What in the actual fuck?_

Draco put his head on my shoulder. His eyes were closed and he simply said, "Just let me be here with you." It was a sentence filled with both exhaustion and longing.


	4. Chapter 4

I had absolutely no idea how to respond to this, so I didn't. I just sat there staring blankly at the water feeling extremely awkward towards this unwanted attention.

"The people here are so exhausting," Draco said, finally breaking the awkward silence, "They're always the same. Every year I come back to this awful place and they never change. You're the only thing, the only person, who is different here." Either this kid was insane or he seriously had some unresolved attachment issues. For Christ's sake, I literally had only met him, maybe 12 hours ago, and he was already attaching himself to me. What had happened to him to make him like this? What was going on inside that idiot brain of his? I found myself growing more curious about him as time passed. It was like he had two completely different personalities. I suddenly noticed that he had changed his shirt. It was a long sleeved maroon colored one with white stitching. The grass was moving with the wind and it felt cool underneath my fingertips. I still said nothing to him and this must've bothered him because he suddenly sat up and looked me straight in my eyes, piercing me with his icy blue ones.

"Why don't you talk to me?" he asked.

" _Because I don't fucking know you,_ " I said inside of my head. I almost said it out loud and then closed my mouth and thought out a better reply to his question.

"I don't know," I said shrugging it off, "Because I'm not used to people going from 0 to 100 in half a day. I don't know you, Draco. What am I supposed to talk to you about? I don't even want to be here. I hate most of the people I meet and I just like being by myself. I've been by myself my whole life. You have to understand that being an asshole to everyone around you doesn't make you a very likable person." It was the truth. That was exactly how I felt towards him so far. I was not impressed with him thus far. His hair was combed over and I could tell that he had an undercut. It actually looked decent. But, again, it just made him look even more snotty.

"Are you really as much of a hard ass as you are trying to make yourself out to be?" he asked. I could sense that he was a little frustrated.

"What the fuck do you mean?" I asked him, "I'm not trying to be a hard ass, you're just being weird as hell."

"Me?" he replied, laughing, "I'm just trying to have a conversation with you like a human being and you keep pushing me away. Who are you really, Sarah?" He was staring at me. For some reason I got the notion that this wasn't a rhetorical question. He actually expected me to answer it.

"What the fuck does it matter?" I answered him, "I'm a complete stranger to you. I'm not even from the same damn country as you."

"You don't _have_ to be a stranger," he said softly. I was getting irritated by all the things he was saying. Everything seemed to have some hidden meaning, like why couldn't he just fucking tell me what he was trying to say?

I sighed exasperatedly and stood up. "Listen," I said angrily, "I didn't come out here to be frustrated and pissed off. I'm going to bed. Continue on with your stupid, meaningless thoughts in silence. By yourself." I turned to storm away but he grabbed my hand. I spun around and ripped it away from him. _THE FUCKING NERVE OF THIS KID_. "Just leave me alone!" I yelled at him. I turned around and walked away before I had the chance to look at him again and feel sorry. God. Why can't he just get the hint.

I made it back to my dormitory. I closed the curtains around my bed and just played there with my hands folded underneath of my head and my hair in a mess on my pillow. " _What was it that you wanted me to be here for, Mom?"_ I thought somberly to myself. I felt sad. An actual pang of deep sadness that would send any normal teenage girl into tears. I let out a shaky sigh and wiped my head clear from any thoughts and closed my eyes. I didn't even take my makeup off because I was too tired. Physically and emotionally.

There was a lot of noise in the morning and it startled me from my sleep. I could hear the other girls ranting and raving about boys and what classes they were taking this year and blah blah blah. Normal girl shit. I didn't want any part of it so I got dressed while everyone awkwardly stared at me and exchanged hushed whispers I knew were in relation to me. I just threw my hair up in a high pony tail and put my sandals on. I was wearing a pretty, knee length flowy, white dress that was splattered with red and blue flowers. I loved it more than the rest of my wardrobe.

I made my way down to The Great Hall and grabbed some food and kept my eyes away from making direct contact with anyone else's. Might as well figure out where the library is now. It would most likely be my haven for the rest of the year seeing as I doubted anyone, especially Draco, had any interest in literature.

Oh, it was wonderful. The smell of old books and dusty magic filled my nostrils and I felt suddenly home. This library was expansive. It was beautiful ad quiet. I noticed Hermione pouring over what appeared to be four or five large books open in front of her. She looked like she was reading them all at the same time. For some reason, this boggled my mind. Classes hadn't even started yet and I read the spines of the books she had opened and they were most definitely related to the subjects she was more than likely taking this year. I found myself a chair in the corner that was tucked away from anyone's eye sight and settled down and began reading one of the many books I had brought with me from home. I just wanted to submerse myself in the world of Anne Rice and forget where I presently was and where I wished I was. I was about two hours in when I heard that familiar, annoying voice I knew belonged to Pansy. These people were literally everywhere. I was sure that she didn't even possess the capability to read. Maybe I was right because she was talking with a couple of other girls.

"That bitch thinks she owns the place already and no one even knows her," she was saying to them. _Oh Lord, here we go_.

"Everyone is talking about how 'pretty' she is and shit, and she's not even pretty. At all." The girls made noises of agreement. "She thinks she can come in a steal Draco from me, well she's in for a big surprise. I won't let her. You know he told me he loved me?" The girls gasped and giggled. For f _ucks_ sake. You would think people had more intelligent things to talk about.

"I bet she's a slut," one of the other girls said. Oh for the love of God.

"I'm just disgusted that we have to share a common room with someone like her," Pansy said, "Why couldn't they have put her in Gryffindor. She's probably just going to be friends with all those nasty mud bloods anyway. Did you see her talking to that awful Weasley boy? Jesus. She has no standards either." I scowled to myself. What was wrong with these people? I had never met more conniving, petty individuals in my entire life.

"I just know that she better stop hanging around Draco, or I'll ruin her," Pansy proclaimed. I had had enough. I got up and went around the bookshelf to see the three of them hunkered over a table talking to each other.

"Do you have something you want to say to my face, you little bitches?" I asked, my eyebrows raised in cynical curiosity. They just looked at me with disgust.

"Go back to the hole you crawled out of, you little mudblood lover," Pansy said to me. They literally were the most awful girls I had ever had the displeasure of coming in contact with.

"You don't even fucking know me," I said, "So don't sit there and act like little prissy idiots and pretend like you do." I wasn't even aware people still used the term, "Mudblood." It was a dead word in the States. It was filled with so much hate and discontent.

Pansy laughed. "Look," she said, "I can say whatever I want whenever I want and you are an ugly little bitch who better stay away from my man." Was she talking about Draco? Why has all of the trouble I had encountered been because of this one boy? What was really so appealing about him? I rolled my eyes.

"As if I want anything to do with him," I said, bored of the conversation, "He's the one who's been following ME around. So shut your fucking mouth and stop being a little snot bag. No one even likes you anyway, including Draco."

It was time for me to find Fred. I needed a pick-me-up and some happiness in my life right now. Jesus. I couldn't stand these people. I was over it already and I was only on my second day.


	5. Chapter 5

I was deep in my own thoughts. I had been immersed in the bustlings of students, once again. It was dreary outside and it was, in a surprising way, comforting. The wind that was blowing through the open corridors whispered of thunder and smelled of rain. It wasn't a day to be wearing my dress, however. I was fucking freezing. I had my old, leather messenger bag slung over my right shoulder, filled with my books and journals I kept with me, almost at all times. Was I somewhere near the Owlery? I could hear the distinct hoots from the owls out here. I still found it strange that the preferred method of post here was an owl and not the postal system. Sure we had owls in the States to send mail, but we barely used them anymore. The students were starting to thin out because it had started to drizzle. I had no idea why I thought Fred would be out here. Only someone like me would find comfort in such gloomy weather. I did notice someone standing a bit ahead of me. How strange. He was wearing black robes. _Who actually wore robes outside of class time?_ I walked a little bit forward, and I immediately recognized him as Professor Snape. I stopped suddenly, going rigid. I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to have a conversation with him. My mother had told me a little bit about him. Apparently they knew each other as children, along with Lily, before they even went to school together. They had been best friends for so long and she suddenly left after Lily and James' deaths and didn't give him any notice of her leaving. I doubt that settled well with him. He was forced to be here, alone, to cope with one of his friends dying and the other disappearing.I didn't want to know anything about my mother's past, afraid of the things that I might find out. Well, hopefully he just didn't notice me. My wish was, unfortunately, not granted.

"Miss Rossi," he drawled out to me, "Would you please come here." His voice was piercing. It made my very soul shiver. I begrudgingly walked to him, as slow as possible to stall the unwanted conversation. _Why was I such a bitter human?_

"Sir?" I asked.

"I have not had the pleasure of introducing myself to you as the head of your house," he said articulating every word in a very exaggerated way, "I am Professor Snape. I teach Potions. I see that you will be taking my class this year. Do you have the proper literature for it?" He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest, shuffling his robes.

"Yes, sir," I answered, looking down at my shoes. I didn't want to make eye contact with him. He made me feel uneasy.

"Is your mother well?" he asked me curiously. _Was he really talking to me about my mother?_ So Professor Dumbledore had informed him who I was.

"As far as I know," I replied, "I haven't spoken to her since my arrival but when I left home she was just fine. Crazy as ever, but fine." He looked at me and then moved to the edge of the bridge, gripping the edge of it.

"I miss her, you know," he said solemnly, "I haven't seen her in so long. She was one of the kindest people I have ever met and one of the few that I trusted completely. I just wish I knew why she left. She never even said goodbye to me." I felt like he was prodding me for some unresolved closure, but I had none. _And I had no fucking idea what to say._ I barely even knew my mother. She was always gone when I was home for summers or holidays or I was always at school. We barely even corresponded with one another while I was gone. "When I saw you, I knew who you were immediately. You look so much like her that I, for a second, thought you were her." He turned around and looked at me. His eyes were so dark and had so much hidden in them. I was normally very good at reading people through their eyes, it was almost one of my magical talents, but this time I could not. It was almost as if I unconsciously did not want to. "She was always there for me, always helping me find my way, even when things got dark. Always at my side, defending what was right even when it was the unpopular thing to do." He sighed. "We will see if you are like her, both in character and in studies." He then abruptly strode away from me. Did he ever wash his hair? Was it wrong that that was all I was really thinking about after that conversation. He had acted like a pained lover who was missing the love of his life. Now I had unanswered questions. _Had he and my mom been a thing?_ My mother was unbelievably beautiful. Would she, in fact, be with someone like him? And then another question popped up in my brain, suddenly and irrationally. My mom had never talked about my father to me. Every time that I tried to bring the subject up on the few occasions that I did get to see her, it was shot down immediately. _Fuck._ I didn't even know who my father was. I touched my long black hair, a trait that I had not inherited from her as hers was golden blonde. It was the only thing about me that I had not gotten from her genetically. More unanswered questions that I was not sure I wanted the answers to. I slumped up against the wall. Everything was, all of a sudden, a fucking mess inside of my brain. What was so painful about her past that made her leave? Surely there was more to the story other than her best friend dying?

"Oi, Sarah!"

I flipped around, suddenly ripped from my thought, and, to my relief, Fred was there waving at me. He jogged up to me. I had no idea what overcame me because I literally threw myself into his arms, hugging him as hard as I could. I needed him to be around right now to suck this unhappiness out of my soul. He laughed.

"You alright?" he asked me, looking at me concernedly.

"Yeah," I said brushing my hair behind my ears, "Just cold." He wrapped his arms around me and I welcomed the warmth whole heartedly. He made me feel so much better just by holding me.

"I've been looking for you all morning!" he exclaimed, "Where have you been hiding?"

"Oh," I began, "Just in the library getting my reading on." I laughed. We walked a bit, talking and laughing, and eventually found a spot and sat down. I leaned up against him to break the wind and we looked at the rain which was now cascading down like a waterfall.

"Tell me some things about yourself," he said putting his chin onto of my head. God, what was it about him that I found so inviting and comforting?

"Like what, Frederick?" I said. He laughed.

"Is that what you're calling me now? It's fucking awful," he said, laughing, "I don't know. What do you like? What don't you like? I just want to know you."

"Well," I began, "My favorite color is yellow. My soul is black. And my animagus is a lioness."

"Animagus?" he said looking at me, impressed, "That's some pretty skilled magic, especially for our age." It was actually pretty normal back at Ilvemory to learn how to turn yourself into an animal.

"You think that's skillful, watch this," I waved my hand and a dead leaf in front of us suddenly started to unit itself and regain it's color from when it was alive. I looked at it again and it started floating about, like the wind was carrying it. There it was. One of the things that distinguished me from every other witch and wizard in the magical community, what made me especially different.

 _I could do any and all magic without a wand._


	6. Chapter 6

Fred just stared at me, astounded.

"How…?" he questioned me, looking at me inquisitively.

"I don't know," I answered, "I've just always been able to do it. My mom can too." He continued to look at me, thoughtfully. I don't know what else to say. I looked away from him. My whole life other witches and wizards used to call me a freak for it, just because they couldn't do it. Of course, when my mother was around, she would always try to comfort me and tell me that they ridiculed and taunted me just because they were jealous of how special I was. It never helped. I would always just close her and the rest of the world out and just find my own way of entertaining myself. Children were cruel, and non-maj's were even crueler. I have always been segregated by either my magical talent or by how I looked. Girls didn't want to be my friend because they felt threatened by me if I was around them. They would just talk shit about me behind my back, which was fine. It didn't really bother me, anyway. I liked being alone. Fred touched my hand, which startled me.

"That's a pretty powerful talent," he said to me. The way he was looking at me was making me feel like my stomach was dropping right out of my body and I could feel my heart beat rapidly. What the fuck was this? Why was I reacting to this skinny ass red-headed boy the way that I was? I looked down in my lap at my free hand. There were a couple of water droplets on it and I made them glitter like jewels, sending a shower of light on the stone pillar up ahead. I shivered. I remembered that it was chilly outside and that I was wearing a dress. I stood up suddenly and awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Fred," I began as he looked up at me, one knee bent and his arm slung over it, "But I have some stuff I need to go do. I don't mean to be rude, but I really should be going."

"Alright, pretty eyes," he said, "I'll catch up with you later." I smiled at him and turned around and walked suddenly away. I really wasn't trying to be rude, but I really was cold and I really didn't want something awkward and unwanted to happen between us. I wanted to be around him more, and I didn't want anything petty to ruin it. I stopped and for a brief moment I looked over the side of the castle at the landscape. It was breathtaking. You could see the separation between the sunshine in the distance, where it was not raining, and where it was raining here. The Black Lake glistened and the owls were still hooting. All of the students had escaped inside to get away from the rain and it was beautifully silent outside. I savored it and then the wind caught me and it reminded me why I was going inside to begin with. I rapped my arms around myself and continued on, hair flying behind me, leaving Fred watching me as I walked away.

It was almost creepy how quiet the castle was. Everyone was either in their common rooms, beds, Great Hall, or the library. Of the four I chose my common room. Might as well spend some time watching the creepy fucking merpeople swimming around with their grindylows suctioned to their tail fins like barnacles on the underside of the whale. Seriously, why were such filthy little things allowed to exist. They served no purpose minus being little demons from Hell. To my absolute delight, as soon as I entered the common room, I found it completely silent and free of little bloodsucking twats. I threw myself down on one of the most comfortable couches I have ever laid on and just stared into the murky waters. I was suddenly extremely tired and felt myself begin to doze off. What the fuck? I woke up, not knowing how much time had passed, but I most definitely did not wake up the way I had fallen asleep. I was lying wrapped up in a sleeping Draco's arms. "What the fuck happened?" I asked myself."Why are strange things always happening with this kid? This cannot be normal." The bigger question, however, I asked myself not knowing the answer to: Why did I feel so comforted by him? I literally felt no anxiety, no fear, nervousness, no negativity lying there with my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat. He was still a complete stranger to me, yet he had pulled me up onto his chest and fell asleep there with me. I peered around the common room looking for someone to be lurking in the shadows.

"No one is in here, Sarah," Draco said without opening his eyes. I was startled. I went to get up but he pulled me back down, gripping to me tighter. "Don't you dare," he whispered to me.

"You are an exhausting human being," I said, but I stayed. He pulled one of his hands off of me and began running it through my hair. God it felt glorious. Jesus Christ, I felt like a cat. "Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"Why not?" he replied, smirking.

"Oh I don't know. Because it's fucking strange to snuggle a stranger," I said matter-of-factly. He laughed softly and buried his face in my hair.

"You are so beautiful and strange," he murmured to me. Was he sniffing my fucking hair? Lord have mercy on my soul. I pulled away and looked at him, more like stared, actually.

"I have no idea how to act with you, you're the most arrogant and unbelieveab…" What the fuck?

Was he, was he kissing me?! He was. Draco Malfoy had both of his hands on either side of my face and he was kissing me.


End file.
